15 Years of CTP - The Learning Journey.
Arusha Hotel - June 2011
Extract from The Arusha Times:
Arusha to host International Conference on Cultural Tourism
by Valentine Marc Nkwame
Arrangements are underway for Arusha to host the biggest international conference on Cultural Tourism set to take place early next year.
The conference is being organized by the Africa Association for Tourism and Leisure Education, ATLAS-Africa, Moi University of Kenya, Makerere University of Uganda and other higher institutions of learning and organizations of sub-Saharan countries.
In Arusha, the conference will be hosted by the Sanawari-based Professional Tourguide School (PROTS) a member of the African Chapter of ATLAS.
The managing director of PROTS, who is also the secretary general of Tanzania Cultural Tourism Organization (TACTO), Vedasto Izoba, said more than 100 delegates from all over the world will be jetting into Arusha for the conference.
Dates for the three day conference are set for the 20th , 21st and 22nd of February 2003, while the main venue for the event, will be the Golden Rose hotel.
The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) and the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), who are the main partners in the local Cultural Tourism Programme (CTP) are the main sponsors of the next year’s international conference.
According to Izoba, the conference will address the issue of Community Tourism as the alternative option for the future of tourism industry.
Also in the programme is a full day trip in which the conference delegates will get the opportunity to visit some of the nearby cultural tourism modules in order to have both insight and experience of the project.
Cultural Tourism has recorded a very successful story in Tanzania, with a total of 18 modules to-date, having attracted over 7,620 tourists since the project started in 1997.
This year, SNV which had founded and supported the entire program since it started, handled cultural tourism program to the new Tanzania Cultural Tourism Organization (TACTO). An outfit made up of local CTP operators under the chairmanship of Elly D. Kimbwereza the managing director of Tona Lodges who operates the Pare Mountains CTP modules.
A similar conference under the title: "Cultural Tourism in Africa -Strategies for the new millennium" kicked off the initiative in the year 2000, and was held in Mombasa city of Kenya, being organized by Moi University.
TACTO’s secretary Vedasto Izoba said as time goes by, there is a noticeable shift in the trend of local tourism industry, as most visits seem to opt for community visits other than just wildlife viewing.
He pointed out that, in order for Tanzania to sustain its reputation as a major player in the tourism industry in East Africa, there is a need for the Government to highly invest in cultural tourism.
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